'Someone's starting to listen,' says Abenaki chief, applauding defeat of New Hampshire bill

Rachel Watts · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 13, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

The main of the Abenaki of Odanak is celebrating a triumph successful his nation's run against state-recognized tribes successful New England, galore of which helium says are illegitimate.

In a quality release, Rick O'Bomsawin says a New Hampshire measure — which lawmakers killed past period — would person fixed excessively overmuch powerfulness to what helium calls "self-proclaimed" Abenaki groups successful Vermont.

"I deliberation someone's starting to listen," helium said.

The Abenaki of Odanak and W8linak accidental 4 Abenaki tribes recognized successful Vermont are among those that are not truly Abenaki, yet authorities instrumentality permits them to merchantability artwork, entree backing for societal programs and person escaped hunting and sportfishing licences.

Leaders successful Quebec took individuality fraud concerns to the United Nations past year.

But much recently, Bill 161, titled "Changing the rank of the New Hampshire committee connected Native American affairs," would person extended the groups' power successful New Hampshire, says O'Bomsawin.

"I deliberation New Hampshire was watching what's going connected and saying, 'oh, earlier we get into this mess, let's halt this close successful the beginning,'" helium said.

Odanak and W8linak, located adjacent Trois-Rivières, Que., person historically clashed with groups successful the U.S. regarding legitimacy. O'Bomsawin and immoderate researchers contend that galore of the Vermont-recognized Abenaki groups aren't Indigenous astatine all.

Attempt to enactment successful spot state-recognized process

Darryl Leroux says these New England groups person refused to bash verification "that they're good capable to do."

An subordinate prof successful the schoolhouse of governmental studies astatine the University of Ottawa who has studied transformations successful achromatic identities and settler colonialism, Leroux recovered that the bulk of members of the tribes had nary Abenaki ancestry, but alternatively are descendants from French-Canadian immigrants.

He published his findings successful a peer-reviewed nonfiction "State Recognition and the Dangers of Race Shifting" successful the American Indian Culture and Research Journal successful 2023. The genealogy has not been independently verified by CBC News.

"They've chosen to judge the household lore," said Leroux. "One's work erstwhile it makes these types of claims is [at] the precise slightest to verify the claims."

He says states tin found their ain process to admit tribes, often for "political reasons." Currently, New Hampshire has nary authorities designation process.

"This measure was trying to enactment [one] successful place," said Leroux.

To get U.S. national status, groups, besides known arsenic tribes, indispensable show compliance with 7 mandatory criteria, including a continuous past arsenic an American Indian entity since 1900. In 2005, 1 of the 4 Vermont-recognized groups, the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, failed to conscionable immoderate criteria.

Donald Stevens, main of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation successful Vermont, says his people hasn't felt the request to question national recognition.

"It's not due to the fact that we can't oregon don't privation to," said Stevens, whose people is recognized successful Vermont. "It costs a batch of wealth and a batch of time."

Stevens supported Bill 161 successful New Hampshire due to the fact that helium saw it arsenic a means to assistance "consolidate," amended correspond interests and assistance acceptable up ways to found designation processes successful New Hampshire, if desired.

He says each people has the close to find their ain citizenship and contests Leroux's findings. He says his household is "well documented arsenic being Indian and being gypsies who travelled from spot to place."

"It's bittersweet erstwhile radical are trying to enactment retired mendacious narratives," helium said.

But galore of these state-recognized groups would ne'er suffice for national recognition, says Kim TallBear, prof successful the module of Native studies astatine the University of Alberta.

"It is simply a precise rigorous process," said TallBear, who is besides the Canada Research Chair successful Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience, and Society.

'A existent superior signifier of theft'

A national of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate successful contiguous time South Dakota, TallBear says state-recognition standards are "pretty appalling." She's among those saying thing needs to change.

"We're truly advocating that states get retired of the concern of doing this," she says.

"Leave this to nation-to-nation conversations, which are betwixt tribal governments and the national government."

While TallBear says "pretendianism" tin sometimes beryllium enactment connected the backmost burner, there's been designation that it's a increasing occupation — arsenic immoderate groups misrepresent and overshadow history.

"Those groups present are vying with recognized tribal groups for resources and recognition," she said.

"I'm seeing the tide turning … we are making advancement successful presumption of getting radical to recognize that this is simply a existent superior signifier of theft."

Chief successful Odanak denounces exclusion

Due to colonization and war, Abenaki were forced northbound of their homelands and settled successful what is present Odanak and W8linak.

Right now, O'Bomsawin says self-identified groups successful the U.S. outnumber his assemblage and unrecorded connected the ancestral territory which stretches from confederate Quebec to bluish Massachusetts, spanning Vermont and New Hampshire.

Despite its ties to the region, O'Bomsawin's assemblage does not person a accidental implicit rank regulations oregon requirements of groups that carnivore its sanction and unrecorded successful areas it considers accepted territory.

"They ne'er adjacent contacted america connected anything," said O'Bomsawin.

"If you are truly, genuinely Abenaki, would you not privation to combat to marque definite nary 1 is stealing your civilization and your language? Would you not privation to cognize who your household members are? That's each I'm trying to do," helium said.

What peculiarly hurts is not having designation successful the States, contempt being federally recognized successful Canada, helium says.

"Not lone bash you privation to bargain my individuality … but you besides privation to bargain my pain," said O'Bomsawin. "And that's truly sad."